1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a flywheel of an internal combustion engine, wherein the flywheel has a reduced outside diameter. The flywheel has lugs which extend radially inward to facilitate the attachment of the flywheel to a clutch housing. So that a clutch disc can be installed and removed past the lugs, the clutch disc has friction linings which change continuously between a maximum outside diameter and a minimum outside diameter.
2. Background Information
Such a flywheel is disclosed, for example, in Unexamined German Patent Application No. 28 15 803. In this realization of a flywheel, the clutch housing is designed approximately in a cup shape. The clutch housing is bolted by means of a radial flange to a corresponding radial flange on the flywheel. The maximum outside diameter for the friction lining of the clutch disc can thus be determined by the fact that the cup-shaped clutch housing runs radially inside the bolt heads, and there typically must be a minimum clearance, preferably between the friction surfaces of the clutch disc and the thrust plate. Similar conditions result with a flywheel as disclosed in German Patent No. 21 61 432, where the flywheel is cup-shaped, and preferably in the cup-shaped portion, the bolts are installed for fastening the clutch housing to the flywheel. Here, too, there typically must be an appropriate distance between the cup-shaped portion of the flywheel, and the maximum outside diameter of the friction lining and thrust plate.